Where will the Portland Beavers call home next?

The OregonianPortland Beavers' Will Venable (left) and teammate Vincent Sinsi

The city of Portland may not be showing much interest in keeping baseball, but baseball wants to stay in Portland.

"I certainly hope baseball stays in Portland. I like the affiliation a great deal," said Kevin Towers, general manager of the San Diego Padres, the parent club of the Triple-A Portland Beavers. "There's nothing that says we have to be downtown, but I like the Portland area."

The Padres' affiliation agreement with the Beavers, in effect since Portland regained the Triple-A team for the 2001 season, expires in 2010. Beavers owner Merritt Paulson is working to secure a Major League Soccer franchise for PGE Park to begin play in 2011. Altering PGE Park to MLS specifications would force the Beavers to find a new home, regardless of their major-league affiliation.

On Friday, Paulson pulled plans for a baseball stadium in the Lents neighborhood of Portland off the table, prompting a threat from city Commissioner Randy Leonard to withdraw support for the soccer team. Paulson declined further comment, but in a statement issued Thursday, he said he plans "to do everything possible to keep Beavers baseball in Portland or the Portland area."

Mayor Sam Adams said often-mentioned sites for the Beavers in Portland wouldn't work, for various reasons: the headquarters of Portland Public Schools, which could cost the city $50 million to buy; the U.S. Post Office site downtown, which could involve lengthy negotiations with federal officials; or land next to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, which the city would have to buy.

About a month ago, a representative of the Beavers contacted Marc Boldt, chairman of the three-member board of Clark County commissioners, about the team relocating to the Clark County Fairgrounds, Commissioner Tom Mielke said.

"It could be a home for them," Mielke said. "It's really premature and up in the air as far as I know."

The existing fairgrounds grandstand and seating area, used mostly during the 10-day county fair in August for concerts and other events, could accommodate baseball.

But the Beavers would undoubtedly encounter the same traffic issues that have bedeviled the Amphitheater at Clark County since its opening in 2003. People driving from Oregon to the amphitheater, adjacent to the fairgrounds, to attend evening events have to grapple with rush-hour Interstate 5 traffic to reach the 179th Street exit ramp.

The Beavers also have contacted the city of Vancouver, spokeswoman Colleen Kawahara said. She referred questions to Eric Holmes, the city's director of economic development, who could not be reached Friday morning.

The city could conceivably promote land near Clark College as a potential new baseball home. The community college is close to the northern terminus for the proposed extension of the TriMet MAX Yellow Line.

Also, the former site of the Boise Cascade pulp and paper mill sits empty next to the Columbia River.

But the city and the site's developer have vowed to build a community of offices, shops and high-density housing on the site. That site also would be close to a proposed stop on the proposed extension of the MAX Yellow Line.

Washington County spokesman Philip Bransford said county commissioners hadn't discussed the possibility of the Beavers relocating.

"It's not on the radar screen," he said. "Nothing is registering."

Paulson has said Hillsboro is also a possibility, but neither Mayor Jerry Willey nor city council members were available for comment Friday.

If the Beavers do move outside Portland, Vancouver would have the advantage of being close to Portland International Airport, cutting down on the time needed for players and team officials to travel to and from San Diego or the Padres' Double-A affiliate in San Antonio.

"There are probably as many flights from Portland to San Diego as there are from Tucson to San Diego," said Towers, referring to the most likely city to regain a Pacific Coast League franchise.

The Arizona Diamondbacks moved their Triple-A affiliate from Tucson, Ariz., to Reno last year, but the PCL has been relatively stable in recent years. Before Reno got its long-awaited team, the last franchise to relocate was Edmonton in 2004, which moved to Round Rock, Texas.

Allan Brettman and Lisa Grace Lednicer of The Oregonian contributed to this story.